


I Do

by cledritch



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arranged Marriage, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, taewin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 21:33:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8862895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cledritch/pseuds/cledritch
Summary: Taeyong walked Sicheng down the aisle.





	

“Taeyong?” was what he said the moment he looked away from the large stained glass mosaic depicting the dove of peace carrying the leaf to symbolize the end of the flood for Noah’s ark to settle back to land, wings spread wide. The light filtered through the reflection gives a myriad of white and blue hues upon Sicheng’s figure, curious eyes wide as Taeyong stood a few feet away.

Pretty.

Sicheng was always pretty.

It sounded like an insult but it’s one of those truths that Taeyong kept tucked in the deepest corners of his mind and substituted with compliments that fit whatever image people have of the Chinese dancer: handsome, hard-working and cute like a baby who’s still learning.

There were other things he called Sicheng, things that should be embarrassing when said out loud yet when it’s whispered inside the safety of his head, they always make his heart heavier within his chest.

Elegant when he performed his Chinese dance, years of training and discipline making his body flexible to accommodate the flips he makes without injuring himself and being able to stretch without wincing at the sudden lift of his limbs to lengths that amazes him every time.

Beautiful when he’s free of anything on his face, despite the complaints Sicheng’s family made about getting surgery for his crooked canine and the cute little pointed lobe he sported on his right ear.

Soft-looking even when the strength in his limbs and masculinity excluding from how he carried himself, all raw intensity when he’s trying to calm himself down after having an argument with his parents and not letting it affect him enough to cry. He’d smile once more a few minutes after, ice cream on his mind to distract himself and Taeyong wants to say no but he can’t say no to Sicheng of all people.

He doesn’t have enough willpower for that.

Taeyong grinned at him, moving to his side as he took the younger’s hand and looped it on his elbow. “You ready?”

 “For what?”

Sicheng tilted his head, unsure at what Taeyong is about to do. Still, he doesn’t let go and the other shook his head at how unguarded Sicheng looked. “I’m walking you to the aisle. Isn’t that sort of my duty?”

The Chinese boy’s eyebrows furrowed, mouth parting to say something but Taeyong started to make a beat that sounds like a remix of the wedding march and the funeral march. His eyes turned to pretty crescents as he tried to repress a smile at the elder’s actions. “Hyung, are you sure you’re okay?”

Taeyong doesn’t reply. He walked towards the altar, still humming his tune as Sicheng tightened his hand around his elbow and when they were halfway there, opted to move closer to Taeyong’s side that he can feel the warmth from the other’s skin.

“Hyung, this is ridiculous-”

They stopped in front of the altar, the imposing cross on the middle of the backdrop making Taeyong wonder how they managed to make such a thing but he cut off his train of though and faced Sicheng who is still looking at him with such trusting eyes it made Taeyong feel lighter.

“What would you prefer? A traditional Chinese wedding or more of a church wedding here?”

Sicheng chuckled a little, hand curling against his mouth to hide it. “Do you want me to wear a wedding dress?”

Taeyong thought about how Sicheng’s bare shoulders would look exposed by an off-shoulder chiffon gown with a long train flowing behind him and the ethereal sight of the veil against his black hair pinned by white roses. But as beautiful as it was, it was a ridiculous sight and he laughed. “No!” When Sicheng glared at him, he waved it off “I mean, this is enough.”

“Whatever, hyung. You’re so weird,” Sicheng muttered, removing his grip from him to cross his arms and Taeyong went to the small egg-shaped chair the priest used to fetch the soft thin blanket left there by one of the altar boys. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop-”

“Too late.” the elder hummed before he draped the material over Sicheng’s black hair, bangs pressing down lightly to his forehead with the weight and Taeyong arranged it carefully that it flowed behind his back.

“I look like a baby.”

Taeyong pinched his cheek, blurting out without shame “You’re always my baby.”

Sicheng’s mouth pursed, nose scrunching as there is a telltale cringe running down his spine at how lame it sounded. But Taeyong brushed a wayward lock of hair off his cheek and it’s replaced by heat rushing to his face. “What were you planning putting this curtain over me? Halloween was over last month.”

“Hush and let me finish my work.”

Sicheng pouted and there is just something too much about him when he does that.

 

It’s like the very first time he met him, lost under the huge Christmas tree in the middle of a packed mall bundled up in a thick coat and scarf too big for him five years ago. Sicheng who sat on one of the round benches decorating the area who dragged his feet against the tiled floor because he was too tall to swing his legs, the side of his face Taeyong could see displayed an elven ear that is one of the many reasons why he stopped playing with the musical reindeer and abandoned his friends there. He walked up to the boy who looked too calm for anyone to notice that his eyes were darting at every direction.

Taeyong only noticed the red and black striped beanie the boy wore, little pom pom at the top bobbing as he moved. “Cute.” he spoke, voice loud enough that the boy looked at him in confusion. 

He was young back then but he knew that it was abnormal for his heart to skip a beat at the large glassy eyes and ruddy cheeks.

Sicheng wasn’t fluent with Korean when he first came to visit the country for the holidays, opting to just say what his parents taught him, an accented “No speak Korean sorry” coming out of his lips that he stumbled over at the syllables.

Young Taeyong suddenly wanted to tuck him his pocket and treasure him forever, something he always felt to things that endear him and it carried on as he grew up, now twenty-two and still pretty much willing to take care of the boy he held the hand of as they went to the mall security where he spent time with the boy whose name he got to know as Sicheng.

Years came and went before Taeyong fell in love with Sicheng.

Maybe he was always a little in love with him even when he was a child but when puberty happened, there is a significant spike of affection he felt for Sicheng that no longer bordered into platonic brotherly feelings. It was the feeling of wanting to hold his hand longer for no reason, knuckles under his thumb as they watched food channels. It was the irritating discomfort in his stomach akin to jealousy when Sicheng seemed to attract some fans as he danced to show off to Taeyong his lessons. It was that urge to pull him close and kiss him senseless even when all Sicheng did was smile.

Taeyong was in too deep at the first smile and yet he didn’t do anything about it. Well, other than denying his feelings and dating someone else that they all turned to his friends in the end who smelled his bullshit a mile away when he kept putting Sicheng above everything else.

Yuta told him back when Taeyong was late for his own graduation and didn’t even make it for his Achievement Award Speech because Sicheng got a bad case of flu that mind you, all Taeyong’s fault in the first place for buying him ten medium-sized tubs of ice cream when it was freezing outside. “You’re so far up Sicheng’s ass I’m shocked you haven’t tried tapping it.” he sneered despite how much he wanted to smack Taeyong when it was Yuta that they grilled for his location all the while he was taking care of a bedridden Sicheng.

Taeyong felt like gagging at the thought of molesting his childhood friend to which Yuta hit him for because he was overreacting. It was one of the instances that he began to question how far his feelings were from platonic and he could blame Yuta for that who never knew when to shut his mouth.

“It’s not like that. He’s important to me.”

“That’s a thin line too close to saying that four-letter word, Yong. Stop trying to underestimate how much you’re gone for that kid,” Yuta smiled at him “I mean if I didn’t have Hansol, I would like to date Sicheng too. He’s such a cutie~” The Japanese male pinched his fingers on air, giggling when Taeyong looked irritated at him.

“Don’t say that.” the latter hissed, irrational jealousy clawing in his chest as he pushed Yuta to hide how much it bothered him. The thought of Sicheng going out with someone, the image of Sicheng dating someone in some romantic setting and he didn’t enjoy his graduation at all. He thought about the calmness in his mind when they grabbed an ice cream together, sharing cones because Sicheng wanted to taste the flavor he got and it made his throat dry at the sight of swollen lips from the cold treat as a pink tongue flicked on the side of his ice cream to get the melting drops down his cone. It was creepy of him to consider licking the same spot as him like a desperate fool.

The feeling intensified when he climbed into Sicheng’s bed to cuddle him for warmth, burying his head on the boy’s shoulder as the shivers from his body subsided.

 

“You finally look like a bride.” Taeyong teased as he covered his mouth to stop the laughter. Sicheng rolled his eyes hands grabbing the edges of the cloth to stop it from falling. The softness of how he looked at Taeyong from under his lashes made the butterflies in his stomach flutter like crazy, chest tight from his feelings overflowing and he cupped Sicheng’s cheek with a light touch. “Beautiful.”

“You always say that.” Sicheng rolled his eyes, his cheeks warm under the elder’s palm as he bit his lip to hide the smile he was about to make.

Taeyong laughed and moved closer, whispering to him “I don’t know if I had but I did say you are the cutest in the world.”

There was nothing more precious than the smile on Sicheng’s face, the same smile he showed to Taeyong when he met him in the middle of the same mall they first met in all those years ago with someone else walking beside him that made Taeyong’s smile slip. The bright smile that displayed too much teeth as he almost rushed to his side and the male with him grabbed his arm, saying something in Mandarin that made Sicheng throw one last look of longing at Taeyong’s direction and let the other male lead him away.

It was the first time that Taeyong’s heart felt like it was stomped by a stampede of elephants and the noise of the mall dulled with the buzzing in his ears as he tried to tell his feet to move.

“You’re overthinking again.”

Sicheng’s voice jolted him out of his memories, nuzzling his cheek into Taeyong’s palm and letting his lips graze the inside of his wrist as if to comfort him. “Hyung, what’s going on?”

 _Please don’t marry him_ was what he wanted to say but instead, he brushed his thumb against the boy’s lower lip and remembered how these lips quivered as Sicheng introduced Qian Kun to Taeyong when he was over at the younger’s house like he usually did. It was too late for him to realize they were preoccupied with another guest to notice that Taeyong has slipped inside carrying a gift for Sicheng and seeing the same stranger from the mall sitting close to Mr. and Mrs. Dong conversing in Mandarin. Sicheng was the one who noticed his frozen form at the door frame and excused himself before he walked up to the elder.

“Hyung, I didn’t know you were coming.” he whispered almost like a child who found out he could get candy for his hard work and Taeyong ruffled his hair at the suppressed but still adorable smile on the younger’s face.

Mrs. Dong rose from her seat, poised as she looked over them and said “Sicheng, why don’t you introduce Taeyong to our guest? And in this house, call him gege. We didn’t raise you to forget your roots.”

Sicheng stiffened at his mother’s tone, robotically turning to the other male who’s looking over them in curiosity “Yes, mama,” he said before he led Taeyong to the stranger’s side.

Up close, Taeyong won’t lie that he thought  this male was good-looking. Brown hair neatly parted to the side and a pair of twinkling eyes that was friendly as they looked up at him. He doesn’t know what this guy is thinking; if Taeyong’s bleached hair is an atrocious choice for anyone in the right mind or that he noticed the way Sicheng was clenching his fists to his side, could tell that the younger was holding back from grabbing Taeyong’s sleeve like the bad habit he never shook off from childhood.

Sicheng paused as he looked between them before extending his hand to gesture Taeyong first. “This is my first friend since I came here in Korea Taeyong-gege…”

To tell the truth, it was at that moment where Taeyong wasn’t sure which shattered his heart first. The fact that Sicheng called him a friend like he usually did when strangers were involved unlike when they were with friends to which he would always say that Taeyong was his favorite or the words that followed, spoken like it was something Sicheng felt guilty over.

“...this is Kun-gege. My childhood friend from China and my fiance.”

 

Taeyong blinked, breathing deeply before he said “We are gathered here today to witness the union between two hearts and the beginning of a new chapter in two lovers’ lives.”

He realized how Sicheng’s parents were conservative and old-fashioned, believing that the best candidate to marry their son is someone they’ve known for a long time. A fellow Chinese whose business could benefit theirs with the union and it wouldn’t cause a rift between the language and the culture. He realized why they let Taeyong take care of Sicheng under the pretense that he was protecting the boy from anyone who would take advantage of him and left little work for them to chase away any potential suitors. They saw Taeyong’s fondness as something they could exploit without considering the truth behind those feelings.

Kun was a nice person. Taeyong talked to him when he went to Sicheng’s house only to find that the boy was out doing errands and Kun let him inside with little fuss. He was quite good in his Korean because he studied in a University not too far from where he was currently handling the Korean branch of his father’s company and his family thought it would be ideal for him to get to know his fiance more by spending time with him. At this, Taeyong’s face turned sour without meaning to and Kun laughed.

“You’re very protective of him.” he teased, hands on his lap like some sophisticated aristrocrat and it only made Taeyong self-conscious with how he was sitting open-legged like he usually did. Sicheng’s home was like his own and he was rather comfortable on their sofa that’s softer than cotton.

“Not just him, I promise. I treasure my friends a lot. Especially Sicheng because he seems like he doesn’t know what to do with himself sometimes.” Taeyong smiled as he recalled that the younger angrily sulked when Taeyong called him a cooking idiot jokingly and tried to cook tteokboki on his own when the elder was out. He came home to Sicheng looking lost as he flipped through his small notepad and while Taeyong helped him cook, he told him that he was still going to improve and he shouldn’t push himself.

Kun noticed his relapse and his smile was a little teasing again, a quirk at both corners as if he didn’t want to share his sudden realization “I can see that.” he said in a weird tone that Taeyong couldn’t decipher so he asked him what he meant.

“You’re quite taken with him so to speak. It’s nice to know you take care of him.” he said but the light in his eyes were different and matched with his smile.

 

Back in the small church Taeyong dragged Sicheng in, he understood.

Kun knew that Taeyong loved Sicheng. He saw past the pretense of protectiveness that they all brushed off as brotherly affection when it was obvious Taeyong would give the sun and the moon in a silver platter if Sicheng asked for it. He figured him out even before the white-haired male knew himself that Sicheng was more than a friend he looked after. 

“Do you think I can do something crazy?” Sicheng gave him a dirty look and Taeyong waved his hands to deny whatever he was thinking “Not like that!”

The younger scoffed and held his wrists to place Taeyong’s hand on his face. “Sure, hyung. I believe you have the purest intentions in mind.” At that, Sicheng let go and deliberately brushed his fingers for a second on the red spots that he knew decorated his collarbones hidden under the safety of his shirt collar.

Taeyong blushed, resolution wavering but he recalled what he wanted to do and took a deep breath before he began to speak “The first time I saw you, you were lost. Yet you didn’t look afraid of being alone and you never asked any help. Since then, I wanted to protect you from everything when if you didn’t need any. We grew up together, held hands whenever we went to the convenience store for ice cream, played hide and seek where you accidentally left a trail of red yarn and my graduation day highlight was taking care of you with a flu…”

Sicheng looked like he was about to cry, blinking as he turned his eyes to the wrought-iron candelabra chandeliers on the ceiling to stop his tears and nodding to let Taeyong finish.

“I loved you when you kicked those boys in high school for taunting me about what I did in the past. I loved you when you ran up to me after winning your first award for your Chinese dance you were always proud of. I loved your smile when you told me I was your favorite. Dong Sicheng, I loved you even before I knew I was loving you and I will continue to love until death do us part.”

Sicheng covered his mouth, eyes already crescents at how he was smiling even if there were tears trailing down his cheeks.

Taeyong laughed nervously, peppering kisses along the tracks left on the apple Sicheng’s cheeks that made the younger bump his nose against his and tried to playfully get out of his grasp. “Hyung, stop. It’s too much, oh my god.”

“It’s my vows, you broomstick. Why do you laugh at my feelings?” the elder pouted and the other squished down the puffed cheeks that made Taeyong blow air at his face "Sicheng, I’m serious.”

The younger’s smile toned down, soft little lifted corners of his lips that sent Taeyong’s heartbeat skyrocketing before Sicheng leaned down to let those plump lips brush against the sensitive lobe of his ear, breath ghosting over heated skin as he spoke. “I love you too, hyung.”

That didn’t make Taeyong satisfied though. “Have you made your vows already?” he said bitterly, letting Sicheng go as he moved back but the latter merely placed his hands on Taeyong’s shoulders staring into his eyes.

“It’s not about the vows. It’s not about me telling you that I will be by your side because it’s not something to promise about when we’ve been together for years,” he whispered as Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed “You’re my most favorite, most cherished hyung and I will love you unconditionally.”

“...then don’t marry Kun and run away with me.”

Sicheng closed his eyes, burying his head on Taeyong’s shoulder and thought about it. The shame he would have to bring his family for ruining what they planned ever since he was born, the betrayal he will bring Kun who is still someone he considered a good friend because he’s willing to put his heart on the line. Every little fear he’s starting to envision if they eloped was scaring him, the bills, the responsibility and the idea that along the day one of them would regret it that his nails were digging into Taeyong’s skin where he gripped his shoulders.

A comforting hand is on his back, rubbing in slow circles and Taeyong’s voice grounding him as the elder whispered “I know I might be asking you to throw away everything for this. I know you’re scared of the things to come and I promise you I will take care of everything. I won’t leave you alone, Sicheng. Not even from the start have I ever thought of that.”

“Taeyong, are you mine?” Sicheng asked, insecurity like a clump of rock settling inside his stomach as he looked up.

“Always and forever.” he replied and held Sicheng’s hands in his, kissing the silver band lined with opal stones that wrapped around his ring finger that mirrored the one on Taeyong’s.

The light of the day basked the halls of the church in warm hues that overlapped with the stained glass reflections of blue and white, birds chirping outside as only the cross bore witness to a union of two hearts who never lost each other.

 

**Author's Note:**

> please end me because what is this


End file.
